Prep girls basketball: Snohomish 38, Monroe 36

SNOHOMISH — Monroe jumped out to a 12-2 lead in the first quarter, but Snohomish shut the Bearcats down almost completely in the second half and the Panthers kept their season alive with at 38-36 win in the 4A District Girls Tournament.

With the victory, Snohomish advances to the consolation final of the tournament. If they can get past Lake Stevens on Saturday they would go on the road to the Kingco No. 3 seed for a regionals play-in game.

This game was very much a tale of two halves. Monroe shot over 40 percent in the first half and under 10 percent in the second.

The Bearcats led 25-18 at halftime and it would have been more if Snohomish hadn’t gotten two stops and scored twice at the end of the second quarter to cut the lead to seven. Monroe only scored 11 in the second half and it would have been less if not for a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

“We just kind of nibbled away,” said Snohomish head coach Ken Roberts.

Roberts said he knew Monroe was a strong defensive team. He talked to his players about what Monroe does. “We knew it was going to be a close game. It didn’t start that way.”

The Panthers defense picked up in time though, as the numbers show. Monroe didn’t make a single field goal in the third quarter.

According to Roberts, Madeline Smith contributed a lot to that defense. She netted 18 points, seven rebounds, five blocked shots and three steals.

Amber Van Brunt stepped up for Monroe. She scored 16 and was also very effective on the glass.

“She was really tough on us inside,” Roberts said.

The consolation final is at 6 p.m. on Saturday at Mountlake Terrace H.S. Roberts and the Panthers have some bad memories of their last encounter with the Vikings.

“The last time we played then up at their place they absolutely pounded us. We’re going to have to play a lot beter to stay with them this time.”